Where the Wild Things Are
by Knuckles' Girl88
Summary: Hunted and on the run for so long Sanji has finally found a small amount of peace. But how long with it last til danger creeps back up on him and forces him to act like the beast he truly believes himself to be? Completely scrapped and being re-written. This will be a mature fic, violence, blood, gore, sexual content and such. I own nothing but the ideas.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, I realize I've been gone for a lone time and while I can't remember where I was hoping to go with a majority of my fanfics, I am going to be revamping Where the Wild Things Are. It will not be following the same plot as I had intended it. Instead I will be scrapping the current versiona and starting from scratch, I hope you all enjoy the new version. -

The constant ticking of the clock had become nothing more then simple back ground noise as the young man sat at his desk, his hands flying over different keyboards as his eyes flickered between three different computer screens. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw a decline in the finacial screen, going to it he deposited a low amount of his own personal funds into the account and nodded as the decline resloved. Sighing for what felt like the millionth time in less then five minutes he looked up at the clock on his wall and frowned, it was already almost six in the evening. Pushing away from the desk he went into the kitchen and began to pull things out of the fridge and cabinets to put together a small meal. The pork cutluts he friend in shallow oil til they were tender and crispy, the spinach he wilted lightly and paired it with cherry tomatos and balsamic vinagar, the final touch were the mashed potatoes that he laced with cheese. Once the food was done he went about setting the small table in the middle of the apartment knowing his room mate would be back any moment, and almost as if summoned the woman entered through the door with a very sour look on her face. She was dressed in her work uniform and was brushing snow from her orange hair almost violently.

"Should I ask?" His voice echoed down the hall to her and frowned more. "If you really want, but I could really use a drink before I get into it. Dinner smells great as usual by the way."

He watched as she slung her boots off and let them bounce off the wall leaving small dents the repairman would have to fix yet again, good thing Ussop was a good friend of her's. She stood on her tip toes and reached over the fridge only to come back empty handed and he could see her temper flare to life more.

"Nami, what the hell happened? You look ready to kill someone."  
"My higher ups. They're a bunch of bull headed, wrinkled, old piss ants that don't have the balls to do what needs to be done."  
He blinked at her choice of words but said nothing as she continued.  
"They sent the Northern divesion to Arlong Park."  
He ducked as she threw the empty bottle of what he guessed was the liqour she had been looking for against the wall and shattered it. "Nami..."  
"My sister was in that unit dammit! Arlong and his fucking rebles showed no mercy, they all died! No doubt painful deaths..."

He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder feeling it tremble, what he wouldn't give to gather his friend to him for a hug and comfort her...but he couldn't. He squeezed her shoulder, feeling the pad in her uniform jacket more then her actual shoulder, and moved away. He made plates for the both of them before pulled the chair out for her. She shed her jacket and threw it on the couch a few feet away before sinking into her seat, they said a small thanks for the food before digging in. They were quiet for the most part and as the meal came to close she suddenly pointed her fork in his direction.

"Have you been holed up in that damn office of your's again?"  
"Nami, we're not having this conversation."  
"The hell we aren't! I keep telling you need to get out of this apartment and live your life! C'mon Sanji, you're the best chef in the city and you can't even run the places you own! You run them from behind a computer screen, that's no life!"  
"And what do you think I should do Nami? Go out into the world, infect god knows how many people? Create more monsters?"  
"That wasn't your fault!"  
"I can't risk it!"

He slammed his fist down onto the table rattling the silverware and plates, his thin brows pulled together in a pain filled frown making her next words die in her throat. She sighed and linked her fingers together under her chin as she looked across the table at her friend. He had been like this since she had met him so many years ago; he was distant and closed off from everyone. He rarely went out side of the aparment other then the fire escape when he wanted some fresh air. He avoided social events of any kind like they would kill him and she could honestly say there wasn't a day that went by anymore when he wasn't locked in his office, looking obsessibly over those computer screens, keeping track of his life. Closing her eyes she could still remember the night they met, he was living in a cardboard box under a bridge, the neighborhood had been abandoned years before due to a massive flood. He could have easily squatted in one of the large house up and down the roads but seemed to think that living in squallor was something he deserved. After seeing him that first night during her normal scouting route she returned everynight; sometimes she took him fresh water, or food. After almost a month she finally managed to get him to talk to her and after almost a year, he finally opened up. It took him so long til he finally trusted her with his secret, one she would take to her grave; it was a horrible burden on him to feel the way he felt. The scrapping of his chair on the floor brought her back from her thoughts of the past as he gathered the dishes and began to wash them, auto pilot she called it, he did it without even thinking. She got up and went to stand next to him to help when he pulled away before her arm could brush against his, his face turning pale as he took another step away from her before turning and walking away back into his office where he promptly shut the door closing hiself off from the world once again.

Sanji leaned his back against the door and wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead, that had been close, too close. He hated that Nami had done nothing short of forcing him to move in with her. She had begged, pleaded, even tried to bribe him with the prospect of sleeping with her; and while she was a beautiful woman his preferences leaned towards the other side of the scale. She was sweet when she wanted to be and generous for the most part, she had opened her home up to him and while he was thankful beyond words he was also terrified that one day, whether he meant to or not, he would hurt her. The prospect of that scared him more then anything, the thought of her ending up like him just because he got careless was gut wrenching. Sighing he pulled a pack of ciggarettes from the back pocket of his pants and opened the window; stepping out onto the fire escape he sat down on one of the cold steel steps and lit the potent stick between his teeth. He could see his breath as he inhaled and exhaled but, the cold didn't even bother him. He couldn't feel the chill as the snow slowly began to drift down from the black sky heavier then before, he didn't feel the freezing wind as it howled between the buildings. Goosebumps rose across his skin as he looked up seeing a small peek of a half moon behins a patch of clouds and just like that it was gone from sight. His blue eyes closed lazily as he leaned his weight onto his elbows on the step behind him. The nicotine filled his lungs as he inhaled and exhaled over and over, the bright red cherry of the burning ciggarette getting closer and closer to his face, his finger tips tingled with the chemical and his head swam for only a moment telling him that the nicotine had made it into his system. When the cheery was almost touching the filter he plukced it from between his lips and put it out in a small pile of snow watching and listening with mild interest as it sizzled an steamed before dying. Taking a deep breath of the cold air he climbed back into the office room through the window and closed it shut tightly behind him. Sitting back down in the chair he went back to his life, his boring...uneventful...careful life.

Frowning from the adjacent rooftop a broad man crossed his arms over his chest, a grunt of annoyance leaving him as his assosiate sat cross legged behind him on the phone with his employers. He growled and turned on the woman with a deep scowl.

"I can handle this myself, I don't need you or your morons fucking it up for me."  
She tucked a jet black strand of hair behind her ear before pinning him with a pair of pale blue eyes that made his shift uncomfortably. "How long have you been after this particualr target Roanoa?"  
"None of your goddamn bussiness."  
"I see, so should I cancle the order to have that woman released upon his death? Or, is the mighty Roanoa Zoro up to the task?"  
"I said I can handle it, devil woman."  
Her eyes narrowed dangerously and while the man had the confidence he could kill her and not bat an eye lash there was a life on the line that mattered to him and he would prefer not the risk it. After a moment she shut the phone off and closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at the man, her gaze softened. "Forgive me Zoro, I have to play my part."  
"You don't have to do it so well Robin...is she alive? Is Vivi alive?"  
"Franky is looking after her personally. I can assure you, my husband will not allow harm to come to her while the agreement stands."  
He 'tsked' loudly. "A mob member with an honor code...who would have thought."  
She smiled a tiny smile, barely visible before she spoke, her voice chilling and calulating. "As rare as finding a demon for hire Mr. Roanoa."

He glared back at her before picking up a pair of binoculars and looking across the street at his target, how could this person be the one? How could this petite blonde be the source of it all? What he couldn't wrap his mind around was the fact that man never left the building, he closed himself off and even when his room mate was around he barely spent any time with the woman. It was completely mind boggling, but not unordianry for the man; first time he had found the blonde pain in the ass was in Canada, a small fight had broken out on a skating rink causing it to split and give the thin man enough of a distraction to disappear on him. He managed to track him down again years ago, completely cut off from any form of civilization, in the middle of Africa of all places...and Zoro hated the unbearable heat. He grit his teeth just remembering that stupid fuck up. He had managed to get his target cornered and just like that, as if an act of god, a goddamn lion pride decided he would make a good meal and attacked him. Once again he hand managed to lose track of the man until only a year ago he finally found him, in a city of all places...and he still limited his human contact. Frowning he sat down on the ledge of the building and watched his target til nearly dawn, he was confused as to why this man was deemed so dangerous yet still made no attempt to cause any kind of trouble...it rubbed him the wrong way and he wanted all the information before he took any action. The only kink in that plan were the people who had hired him to take this man out in the first place, after his second failure they took security measures to make sure he didn't fail again by taking his best friends fiance'. Ace had all but paid Zoro himself to do anything to get her back; so here he sat, in the cold and snow, watching a puney, self absorbed, annyoing, wannabe chef play house with a woman from the local military unit. It made no sense to him, but then again...it didn't have to, all he had to was kill him. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji grunted as he sat up on the small couch in the office room, his back was stiff and his long legs felt cramped, groaning he ran a hand through his hair and fished his cigarttes out of his pocket. Lighting on he inhaled and let the plume of smoke out in a sigh, the nicotine making his fingers tingle and his head swim; looking over at his computers he felt dread well up in his chest as sun light filtered through the window...another beautiful day...and he would be staying inside. Letting out a low growl he stood and climbed out the window onto the fire escape to sit onto the steel stairs once again. It was cold, his breath came out in puffs infront of his face, the snow that had falled the previous night covered everything in sight making his squint as the sun glared across the rooftops. After a few minutes he threw his spent cigarette off the side of the stiars and looked up at the clear sky, it was an astonishing color of blue that made his eyes hurt. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth as the sun began to slide through the buildings to carress his skin; a part of him wished dearly that he could go out and walk about the streets, enjoy the sun and clear day. He squashed the feeling almost instantly as he looked at his pale hands, they shook slightly as he clenched them into fists...he could never go out in public, the clamaity he could cause was more then enough to make him want to do nothing more then lock himself in a basement and never come out. He started as the window was thrown open, Nami frowning up at him from inside; she shook her head and leaned over, her arms resting on the sil.

"You havne't even eaten and already you're smoking?"  
"Its my morning routine. You know that."  
"I do, what isn't, is the fact that you're thinking. I can see it, the frown lines on your forehead, the clenched fists, the slight tremble. I know you're not cold, you don't even feel the cold. So, what's on your mind?"  
"Nothing, just idle thoughts. Nothing you need to worry about Nami dear." He falshed her a smile. "Bullshit. I know you."  
"You think you know me, but you barely talk to me Sanji, let alone stand in the same room as me for longer then a few moments. But I...I watch you, I see how you move, how you spend your time, everything. I can see when you're thinking, and when it becomes too much for you to handle. You smoke more when you think thoughts you feel like you have right to think and you keep to your self more then ever when the moon begin to fill out. You vanish at least one night a month and when you come back you look like you've been in at least a dozen bar fights. Stop me when I'm wrong-"

Sanji listened in shock as Nami began to prattle on and on about his coming and going, about how he locked himself away from the world, including her. He felt his nervousness mounted as she continued til he couldn't take it any more. Holding up his hand he stopped her and shook his head worriedly.

"Why...? How...? I don't understand Nami, you're barely around your self and you've noticed all that?"  
"Like I said Sanji, I watch, I listen. I may not know you very well as a person; but I know what matters."  
"Nami, you need to stop looking in on me so much, you know the dangers of getting too close."  
"Dangers? Please. You're not dangerous Sanji, you're not a danger to anyone; look at you, locking your self away from everyone and everything thinking you're keep us all safe, from what?"  
"You know what!"  
"Do I? Do I really? All you've told me is the shadow of the truth to who you are Sanji. I know why you feel like you have to do what you do, I know what makes you so hard on your self. But...do I really know? The answer to that question is no by the way. I don't know any of it, I don't understand any of it either. You never explain anything to me, you let me guess and make my own assumptions. That's all."  
"You don't need to know, you don't need to understand. All you need to do is go on with your life and ignore me."  
"Please, ignore you? Like I could do that. With out trying you reach out to me, make dinner, talk to me, help with dishes. You keep the apartment clean, you do everything around here and never ask for a thank you, or any kind of acknowledgement that you did it. You want to keep the premis of a normal life with out the risk of hurting someone, but you hate that you have to do it in the first place. After all, who would ever believe that a man, living in a cardboard box under a bridge, could be the owner of three of the best cooking establishments in the city."

He took a deep breath and shook his head at the woman looking at him, frowning he met her eyes and tried to make him self look indiffernt.

"You have to stop, you have to just leave me alone Nami, what if I hurt you one day? What if something happens and I end up making you like me?"  
"You don't even know how to do that Sanji, you have no idea what can or can't pass that on to another person. You don't have the slightest clue how it spreads."  
"I have some clue, I saw what happened years ago, I saw what I did, what my mistake did. I was foolish and trusted too easily."  
"Exactly, you trusted someone, and you trusted the wrong person. I won't do that Sanji, you have to let some one in eventually, why not let it be someone that at least as some kind of idea what you really are, and get it off your chest."

His eyes grew slightly wide as he looked at her, she was making sense, and he hated it. Oh how he wished, for so many years he had someone to talk to, someone to confide in and tell him things weren't always his fault...and mean it. Someone to look at him like she was now, like he wasn't a complete monster. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath before letting it out, waving his hand he motioned for her to move, which she did, and he climbed back through the window closing it behind him and locking the cold air back out side. Frowning he moved past her and motioned for her to follow him. Going into the kitchen he sat down at the table and folded his hands under his chin as she sat across from him, he met her eyes holding them with a hard look.

"Are you..." He took another deep breath to steady himself. "Are you positive you want to hear all this?"  
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."  
"I don't even know where to begin Nami...my life...my life has been a long one, and it's been full of nothing but blood and pain for as long as I can remember."  
"Everyones life is full of pain Sanji, just different levels."  
He nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Its different Nami. Most people haven't done the things I've done."  
"What could you have possibly done in your short life that most people haven't?"  
He snorted slightly. "Short? No...Nami, what you think you know about me is just the tip of it. You have no idea the can of worms you just decided to open on a whim. And the worst part about all of this, is that what I'm going to tell you, what you've insisted I tell you, will most likely give you nightmares for the rest of your short, human life."  
"Sanji-"  
"Before I tell you anything Nami, you need to really...and I mean REALLY think about this, and ask your self is it so important to you to know everything about me?"  
"I want to be your friend Sanji, is that so wrong?"  
"When I am what I am, yes."  
"Sanji-"  
"Nami, what do you know of the world beyond your world?"  
"I'm sorry?"  
"I know the organization you work for, that small military unit you work for investigates odd instances, murders that don't add up. People missing that are never found, animals that are torn to shreds for no apparent reason. Things of that like."  
"How...how do you know that?"  
"Because, I fall into the catagory. That illness I keep telling you I have, that I can spread to anyone? That those people took from my blood and infected an entire roomful of people with. I fit under that catagory."  
"Your illness can't be something like that Sanji, normal people-"  
"I'm not normal Nami, I've lived on this earth, walking alone, watching it evolve and spin day in and day out for nearly five hundred years."  
"Wha-"  
"Please...let me finish. Once I'm done you can decide to either let me stay here, or make me leave."

She nodded, though he could see the fear and uncertainty behind her eyes. She was nervous.

"Nami, the once a month vahishings, the times I leave for a day or so at a time, I do it to fix my mistake, to put an end to the illness I let get out onto the streets so long ago. Fifty years ago give or take."  
"F-fifty?"  
"Yes. Now, again. Do you really want to know?"

He could see her watching him, judeging whether she wanted to delve into the corners of darkness, uncover the bones of his past. He could see her questioning herself, questioning everything she knew and everything she thought she knew. He saw the emotions flutter across her face, watch as they in turn settled in and flitted away like a bird perching on a branch breifly before spreading its wings and flying away. After a few minutes he saw her face harden, her eyes focused on his and she let and stern, unmoving frown on her features.

"Tell me everyting." 


End file.
